McMahon Design and Management (MDM) announced plans this month for two new transatlantic subsea cable systems connecting Ireland to the US.

The first cable system, Narwhal 1, will run from an existing MDM cable landing station (CLS) in Galway, Ireland, to a location on Long Island, New York.

The second, Narwhal 2, will connect a new planned cable landing station in southern Ireland to New Jersey. The project is valued at $500 million.

MDM is currently developing permit applications for Narwhal 1 and 2 and is in the process of marine service procurement. The provisional ready-for-service (RFS) dates for the cable systems are Q3 2029 for Narwhal 1 and 2030 for Narwhal 2. The project will be funded through private equity alongside industry partners.

Further specifics of the cable systems, such as length and number of fiber pairs, have not yet been shared.

The transatlantic cable systems will interconnect with other under-development MDM submarine cable systems connecting Ireland to Europe and the UK. This includes the Pisces System, which will connect Galway to Spain, France, and Portugal, a new cable system from Galway to Norway, as well as multiple systems connecting Ireland and the UK.

Founded in 1990 by Jim McMahon and Tom McMahon, MDM is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. It develops, builds, and operates subsea cable systems and began as an Irish civil engineering consultancy that has now developed a global footprint. MDM has delivered more than 20 subsea cable systems across a network spanning more than 40,000 km (24,854 miles), connecting to more than 50 coastal communities.

Narwhal 1 and 2 are set to interconnect with the Pisces System, which will link Ireland to mainland Europe. Announced in 2024, the Pisces subsea cable system is planned to comprise 3,000km (1,864 miles) of cables and a minimum of eight fiber pairs. The project is co-funded by the European Union’s HaDEA (Health and Digital Executive Agency), with a completion target of the first-phase main trunk connecting Galway, Ireland, to Sines, Portugal, scheduled for 2028.